Re: Hardware status (cheapeeg)

From: rfphill_at_h...
Date: 2001-04-05 05:03:51


I find it a pain when I'm trying to place 'trodes on myself. I find
that sometimes I move around and yank them from my head and have to
start over again. I find sometimes that I look in the mirror, pull
hair back, abrade, swab, apply goop and get a bad connection. Oops!
I must have put the electrode a few millimeters away from the spot I
prepped... Who the f knows... Guess I'll start again, maybe this
time I'll get lucky and actually put the 'trode on the exact location
I prepped.

Sometimes I think, "Wow, I've got a spare 45 minutes, maybe I'll do
some training." Then I think, "Naw, it'll take me freakin 15 minutes
just to prep myself, forget it." Opportunity lost, game over. Hey,
at least I don't have to wash my hair again today. The only
conceivable benefit to baldness is not having to wash the trendy
10/20 "mousse" from my hair.

No, for the practitioner it's a no brainer, the goop method is not a
problem. For the home trainer, the flextrodes or a reasonable
facsimile is just what the doctor ordered. I can live with a little
saltwater in my hair, in a short time it's dry. Not da goop, not da
goop, gotta wash da goop out. So, add a wash, dry, set... Another
20 minutes and I look like I did when I started. I'm just not real
good at putting them on myself and keeping the whole process clean.
Not to mention I like the idea of some kind of head gear that can
make placement fairly consistent as well.

I ain't got anything against the goop, friend. But I only apply
these 'trodes to myself, and I'm looking for an easier way, thanks.
Not disrespectin' the goop, just supplying my opinion 'bout the
differences it will make in my simple little life (and maybe a few
others).

Now, cost is a whole other matter, which leads me back to my original
post. It seems that there is a way to build one on these
contraptions for a fraction of 200 clams...

It seems that I'm running a little low on Alpha... :-)

--- In buildcheapeeg_at_yahoogroups.com, peterson_at_d... wrote:
> Just what is it you folks have against "goop" anyway? I've been
> using electrodes with abrasive goop, with sticky goop, and with
just
> plain gooey goop for years, and if the alternative is expensive wet
> (rather than gooey) electrodes, I guess my patients (and I) will
just
> have to put up with goop for another bunch of years.
> Jim
>
>
> --- In buildcheapeeg_at_yahoogroups.com, rfphill_at_h... wrote:
> > You said:
> > > Finally, you mentioned you were in discussion with an electrode
> > > supplier. What kind of electrodes are you thinking of using?
Is
> > it
> > > possible to use flextrodes (from Brainmaster) which require no
> gel?
> >
> >
> > In response to your question about flextrodes. A quick
evaluation
> of
> > this item and one might quickly realize how easily they can be
> > constructed with the right materials. The electrodes themselves
> are
> > standard cup types wrapped in a sponge (I think a cotton felt).
> The
> > electrode holder itself might be difficult to duplicate as it
might
> > be a custom design. But careful inspection could yield a few
> > alternatives for the mechanically minded. The holders are by far
> the
> > most engineered aspect of the headgear, and it's two pieces of
> > plastic (not to belittle it by any way, I would buy Flextrodes in
a
> > second if 200 dollars were easy to come by). That's an
> > oversimplification of course, but I think an mechanical engineer
> > could find a alternative design using off the shelf items in any
> > hardware store. Add elastic and velcro and viola! Again, I
think
> > it's creator did a great job of designing a simple but effective
> > alternative to the goop methods.
> >
> > The idea of using an electrolyte soaked sponge as a substitute
for
> a
> > dollop of paste is not new is it? I'm asking. In my web
searches
> in
> > search of an alternative to paste/gels without the cost of
> > Flextrodes, I think I've seen a few ideas that were similar.
> > Brainmaster has simply packaged the idea up in a sensible device
in
> a
> > sensible manner.
> >
> > I'm no engineer and a relative newcomer to NF so take my comments
> > with a grain of salt, I guess. I'm just envisioning a companion
> > design doc illustrating the building of a cheap "flextrode"-type
> > headgear using readily available items (to go along with a cheap
> eeg
> > design doc).



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